The North West Warriors have named their squad for the Hanley Energy Interprovincial T20 against the Northern Knights at Strabane Park on Friday evening as Ian McGregor and his players prepare for another very busy week of cricket.

Following on from last weekend's eye-popping schedule for many of them, half of the Head Coach's squad are now preparing for a training session this evening (Wednesday), followed by the T20 game on Friday, a Bank of Ireland senior cup quarter final on Saturday, an away day in the All-Ireland on Sunday and a three-day Interpro contest starting next Tuesday in Dublin.

McGregor acknowledged the difficulties involved for many in his camp but insisted their priority was solely with the job at hand.

"I have no doubt that discussions about scheduling will happen at the end of the season with all parties so we can put it on the back burner for now. It's no secret that we have struggled with availability on the back of things and although it hasn't been quite as bad for this Friday, there are still several players out (for a variety of reasons) that would otherwise have been in contention."

"As we discussed earlier our plan is to use the two overseas options as sparingly as we can throughout the summer so we've just named Imran (Butt) for this. Circumstances may or may not dictate differently for the Leinster game starting on Tuesday, but we'll cross that bridge once we get to it."

"I honestly feel we've done quite well so far this season - even in the two defeats to Lightning we got our disciplines right bowling first before losing our way with the bat. I thought we were excellent in the 3-day game against the Knights, when only a full day's rain denied us a chance of posting a win."

"The thing that we talk about a lot is that we have to take that to the next level now and learn to close matches out. We have no shortage of talent in the Warriors' camp but we have to work to our own game-plan and stick to it."

On the plus side for McGregor it would appear that Stephen Smyth has agreed to stay on as an Assistant Coach for the foreseeable future and the Warriors boss felt that the news was a great boost for everyone involved.

"Everybody is aware of Stephen's quality as a player and the squad has reacted really positively to his introduction. He brings a fresh set of eyes and is already starting to make his mark within the dressing room. He certainly has plenty to offer this squad."